


I'm your new neighbor

by Carmilla_Hollis



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, F/F, Neighbors AU, little shits
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-01
Updated: 2015-07-01
Packaged: 2018-04-07 02:06:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4245450
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Carmilla_Hollis/pseuds/Carmilla_Hollis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Karnsteins moved in next door when Laura was 7 years old, and that's when she met Carmilla. Even though Carmilla wasn't even a full year older than her she seemed much older. Laura, of course wanted to be friends, and in a year they were the best of friends. But when the year was over Carmilla and the Karnsteins had to move. Laura's life went on without her best friend and she became a fond memory. However in Laura's last year in high school, an old friend moves in next door, but she isn't quite like she was before.</p><p>or</p><p>Neighbors au where Laura and Carmilla are little shits in high school dealing with angsty shit and love</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'm your new neighbor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've written a fic, and I'm iffy about this chapter but whatevss, tell me what you guys think!
> 
> WARNING: Underage drinking, also I used she/her pronouns for LaF because they are really young in this chapter and hasn't decided on anything about pronouns and gender fluidity.

**_Laura – 7 years old_ **

Laura stood on a stool as she helped her mom heap tablespoons of dough onto a metal tray, waiting to be baked in the oven. Her mom gave her a sweet smile as they continued to place dough onto the tray. “We have to make these cookies extra special today. Okay Laura?”

“They are always special, because we make them together.” Laura exclaimed with a large smile that was missing a couple of teeth.

Her mom laughed softly and nodded her head in agreement. “You are exactly right! But today we have to make them even more special than they already are!”

Laura was thoroughly confused; she didn’t understand why these cookies had to be any more special than all the other cookies they always made. “Why do these have to be so special?”

“Because we have some new neighbors that are moving in right next door, and giving them extra special cookies will welcome them into the neighborhood, understand?”

“Mmmhhhhmmm, because if everyone was a little bit nicer to everyone else then the world would be a better place.”

Her mom laughed again, “You are exactly right! I guess me and Daddy have taught you well huh?” popping the now filled tray into the oven.

Laura didn’t say another word but instead nodded her head and smiled brightly up at her mom. She jumped off the stool and started dragging it in front of the oven; waiting patiently for the cookies to finish.

Her mom came up next to her and started stroking her hair. “Come on honey let’s go watch those dragons you love while we wait for these to be done. And when they are done we can wrap them up real nice and take them next door. How does that sound?"

“That sounds good!” Laura stood up and started moving the stool back to its original position. Once she was satisfied with her work she ran over to the couch in the living room and plopped down next to her dad, “Hi Daddy!”

“Hi Angel." He greeted back, placing a kiss on her head, “What do you wanna watch?”

“I wanna watch Dragon Tales!”

“Are you sure? You don’t wanna watch football? Hockey? The news?”

“Noooo.”

“Okay, okay Dragon Tales it is then.”

“What can you do? Our daughter knows what she wants.” Her mom sat down next to Laura after she was finished tidying up kitchen, “Oh by the way David, once the cookies finish we’re bringing them over to the new family that moved in next door.”

“Okay. Oh yeah Laura, did you know our next door neighbors also has a daughter the same age as you?”

She ceased watching the dragons and turned excitedly towards her father, “Really?!?”

“Yes! And I think she’s going to the same school as you when you go back, so you become good friends with her okay?”

“Of course! Of course!”

He ruffled her hair up a bit, “Good girl.”

Laura was beyond excited to meet this girl; she had friends at school, sure. But she wanted a best friend, like how Susan and Lola were the bestest of friends. She wanted something like that, and since this girl was her neighbor they should be close in no time. She sat impatiently watching the dragons solve their issues and waited to meet her future.

 

* * *

 

"Laura are you ready?" Her mom called from the kitchen while taking the tupperware of cookies into her hand.

Laura slid her foot into her shoe and smoothed down the white dress her mom made her put on, "Ready!"

Mrs. Hollis came to Laura's side before realizing they were missing one more person, "David hurry up!

"Coming, coming!" Mr. Hollis stumbled down the stairs while tucking in his shirt.

He lands at the bottom of the stairs with a thump after tripping over the last few steps. Her mom just shakes her head and smoothes down his snowman tie, "Do you have to wear that ugly tie?"

"It isn't ugly, it's festive!" he picked Laura up and started belting out It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year as he walked out of the house with Mrs. Hollis laughing behind them.

When they reached the house next door he put Laura down and she stood on her tippy toes to ring the doorbell. Laura knew she was small, she was always small. She was one of the shortest kids in her first grade class, but that didn't stop her from being the little bundle of joy that she was.

After a few moments the door opened, and there stood a lean women with her hair in a tight bun and she wore an all grey skirt and blazer. Her face was rather angular and sharp, she had an intimidating aura to her and her eyes seem to analyze every inch of you.

"Hi! We're your neighbors next door, I'm David Hollis, my wife Grace and my daughter Laura." he presented proudly.

The lean women took the hand Mr. Hollis had stretched out in front of them and shook it firmly. "Vivian Karnstein, pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you."

"I have a son and daughter that seems to be around Laura's age."

"I would love to meet them!" The tiny child exclaimed in excitement.

Mrs. Karnstein gave a slight nod and stepped back inside the house. "Children, come to the front door." She stepped to the side and there came two brunette children. "This is Carmilla, she turned 8 a few weeks ago." She put a hand on the girl's shoulder and she gave a small wave and a forced smile. "And this is Will, he's almost 6" she finished, gesturing to the slightly shorter boy.

“I’m Laura!” she waved enthusiastically.

Carmilla gave her a less forced smile and Will gave her a small nod. They were a rather handsome duo, however to Laura, the young girl right in front of her was beyond words. She kind of reminded her of Snow White. She had such pale skin that was exemplified by the dark clothes and dark wavy hair. Her eyes were piercing but alluring, hard to imagine this girl was almost the same age as her, she seemed much older.

“Why don’t you come inside, so we can all become more acquainted?” Mrs. Karnstein showed the family inside and walked towards the modern yet luxurious living room. “You’ll have to excuse my husband for not being here, he’s at the office finalizing some paperwork.”

“Oh, it is no worries, we came unannounced. You have a very lovely home here Vivian.” Mrs. Hollis complimented as they sat down.

“Thank you, it took a few months of planning to be exactly the way I wanted it.” Mrs. Karnstein looked questioningly at the box held in Mrs. Hollis’s hands. “And what have you brought?”

“Oh right! I completely forgot! Laura and I baked these as a welcoming present.” She set the cookies on the spotless glass coffee table in front of them.

“It’s very much appreciated.”

Laura scanned the house and found it to be a very clean home, and it had the re-occuring colors of white and grey throughout the house. It was vastly different from her home, her house was warm and cozy, but this house had a dark feeling to it.

As she looked around she noticed Carmilla and Will weren't around anymore. "Mrs. Karstein, where did Carmilla and Will go?”

"They most likely went upstairs. You can join them if you would like to."

"Okay!" She went upstairs and found that its decor was no different from the rest of the house. She stepped into a large open room that consisted of a couple of couches, a coffee table and a flat screen TV. She saw Will playing alone with little race cars, imitating their noises and Carmilla was sprawled on the couch reading a book.

"Umm hi!" Laura seated herself next to Carmilla's feet. Neither of the siblings replied. Carmilla did however peek over her book to meet Laura's gaze, but she continued to keep the barrier up.

The silent conversation between the two girls was making Laura incredibly nervous, and when Laura was nervous she talked. A lot. "What are you reading?"

"A book." Carmilla continued to read and didn't seem like elaborating her answer.

"Oh... It looks like a hard book. You must be really smart! I'm not that good at reading yet. I wish I was, like you or my friend Susan. You should meet my friend Susan, she's really smart! You would like her! She loves to play around and she's always joking. She's really funny. But you can't be her best friend. Her best friend is Lola and they are always together. Lola is really awesome too. She's really sweet and she loves to bake cookies with mommy and me. If you want a best friend you can be mi-"

"You talk a lot don't you?" Carmilla interrupted, causing Laura to become slightly pink from embarrassment.

"Oh. Sorry. I didn't mean to. I kinda like talking. And since we were neighbors we could become friends. You make friends by talking. And we live so close so we could have a lot of fun playing games like soccer or frisbee or red light green light and you kn-"

Carmilla moved her feet to the ground and set her book on the table. "If I play a game will you stop talking so much?"

Laura's eyes brightened up and she nodded happily.

"What do you wanna play?"

"Hmmm," Laura furrowed her brows and thought intensely for a fun game to play. "Oh! Let's play Monkey in the Middle! But Will's gonna have to play too."

Will jumped up at the mention of his name, excited to join in. "Yes please!"

"What's Monkey in the Middle?" The older girl asked as she fiddled with edges of her book.

"You've never played?" Laura was surprised; everyone she knew had played this game before.

"Don't think I have."

"Come on." Laura pulled Carmilla up from the couch and dragged her to an open area. "You stay there." She walked to Will and pushed his shoulders to guide him a few feet away from Carmilla. "And you here. Um do you have a ball or something to toss?"

"Uh yeah, gimme a sec." The brunette girl walked into a room and a few seconds later came back with a tennis ball. "Here." She placed the ball in Laura's palm and retreated back to her original spot.

Laura placed herself in between the siblings and started explaining the game. "Do you get it?"

"It seems simple enough."

"It's a lot of fun!"

The trio started playing and before they knew it the game had became increasingly louder, with laugher and yelling at the misses and catches of the ball.

During a round with Carmilla in the middle and Laura sticking her tongue out at the other girl because she caught the ball instead, Mrs. Hollis called Laura to go home.

"Do we have to go home?" Laura sadly asked from the railing of the second floor.

"Yes honey, we have to go home and eat dinner."

"Okay." Laura pouted and returned the ball to Carmilla. But before she went downstairs, she gave the other girl a big hug. "I had a lot of fun. We'll play something else next time."

Carmilla returned the hug and whispered a goodbye as Laura walked down the stairs.

"Bye Carmilla, bye Will!" The blonde waved one last time. She was extremely happy. She made a friend today. A really smart and pretty friend. She had the best neighbors.

 

_**Laura – 8 years old** _

Over the next year the girls became fast friends, with of course Will trailing behind. They played multiple games and had sleep overs at each other’s houses. Laura would talk to Carmilla about the adventures she had with her parents and Carmilla would talk about the books she read. They spent most of their time at Laura’s house though. Carmilla had said something about her mom working and how she didn’t want the mess or the noise. Laura didn’t really care much; as long as she was spending time with Carmilla she would go anywhere.

It was great to have Carmilla live close by. One day they ran a string through their windows and had cups attached to each end. They tried speaking into them hoping to hear the other one talk but it didn't work. All Carmilla did was laugh because she told Laura it wouldn’t work but still went along with it anyway because Laura wanted to try. After Laura’s pouting over the failed attempt Carmilla came up with a plan to save money that summer so the could buy walkie talkies and talk to each other before they went to sleep.

Laura finally had the friend she always dreamed of. And she loved Carmilla, because she was so so cool, and really fun to talk to. She was lucky to call her neighbor her best friend, well until Carmilla told her otherwise.

“You’re moving?” Laura questioned as the older girl laid on her bed picking at the yellow fuzz off a tennis ball.

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

Laura crossed her arms and angrily turned towards Carmilla. “Why didn’t you tell me a long time ago?”

The brunette sat up and stared miserably at the yellow ball in her hands. “Because I knew you would be crying until I left.”

“I can’t help it! Why are you moving?”

“My mother got some big job at her company so we’re moving to New York.”

“Can’t you stay here? Ask your mom if you and Will can stay with us!”

“She won’t let us.”

“But- but- but” Laura could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. Carmilla was the closest friend she's ever had. She couldn’t lose her now. She ran over to the other girl and hugged her tight. “I don’t want you to go.”

Carmilla dropped the ball and hugged the tiny girl back. “I don’t want to go either, but I have to. But this is our last night, let’s make it fun.”

Laura let go and wiped her tears away as she kept sniffling and gasping a bit. “Okay.”

After the two girls came downstairs hand in hand, they helped Mrs. Hollis bake brownies for the Karstein’s flight. And they continued their last night together by building a fort in the living room, where they stayed up all night watching all of Laura’s favorite Disney movies. When the next morning came the girls exchanged their tearful goodbyes and promises to keep in touch. Laura looked out the window until the Karnstein’s car was out of sight and she cried some more into her mom’s embrace.

As time went by they honestly tried to call and write to each other, but life caught up to them. The missed phone calls were unreturned and letters remained unanswered. Soon they were but only a fond yet distant memory to one another.

 

_**Laura - 10 years old** _

_This can't be real, none of this is real. This can't be happening no no no._ Laura repeated these words to herself over and over again as her and her dad cried into each other's arms. Just a few moments ago a police officer had been on their doorstep and told them her mom had been in a tragic car accident on her way home from work due to another car that drove into her lane and caused her car to flip over.

Everything after that was hazy, all Laura remembered was the air becoming thin and it was getting harder and harder to breath. She collapsed in the fetal position on the floor, feeling the tears sting her eyes and her lungs filling with devastation. She saw her dad kneel down to the ground next to her and held her tight as he cried into her shoulder. They stayed like that for hours until the tears ran out and their bodies were exhausted.

None of it felt real. This shouldn't have happened. None of it should have happened. Her mom should've been home. She should've come home and hugged Laura tightly and told her that she loved her. Her mom should've been home and not alone. She should've been home.

When her dad was about to go to the police station, Laura begged her dad to let her come along so she could see her mom one last time. But instead he hugged and told her he couldn't let Laura see her like that. He couldn't let Laura see her mom lifeless and maimed on a metal table waiting to be carted away. He wanted Laura to remember her as the warm and lively person she is - _Was_.

Later that night, her dad came back and retreated to his room without saying a word to her. She walked in and saw her dad at the edge of his bed with his head in his hands, crying uncontrollably. "I don't know what to do anymore. Laura, I don't know what to do. She was my rock. She was part of me. She was my heart. Now she's gone. What am I supposed to do now? Why is she gone? Why was she taken away from us? Why? Why?"

She wrapped her arms around him and started sobbing. "I don't know daddy. I wish she was here. I wish she was home." But she was gone.

 

* * *

 

The next few years were hard, but they learned to survive with only the two of them. Her dad tried his best to be everything Laura needed, even with the "girl problems". He learned how to cook almost as well as she did. He learned how to clean the house properly. And he learned how to rock Laura to sleep when she had nightmares. In due time everything was slowly becoming okay, because they knew it's what she would've wanted. They knew she would've wanted them to be happy, and for her, they tried their best to be everything she wanted.

 

_**Laura - 17 years old** _

"Make sure you don't burn down the house!" Laura's father warned her over the phone.

"Haha. Very funny dad, I'm taking the cookies out of the oven right now. And everything's a-okay." She balanced the phone between her shoulder and her ear while she took out a tray of cookies from the oven. "I gotta say these look like my best batch ever."

"Save me a couple before you take them next door!"

"Of course I will, who do you think you're talking to?"

"That's my girl. Sorry I can't come with you to meet the new neighbors but it's really swamped at the station right now and they need my help."

"I know dad, you're a great important firefighter and they aaallll need you."

"That's right! Okay, I have to go now. I love you."

"Love you too."

After hanging up the phone she went upstairs to get ready. She put on a pair of jeans and a striped shirt that was slightly cropped. Satisfied with her outfit, she went back stairs to put the cookies in a tupperware container and left a couple out for her dad. Once Laura was done she headed out for the house next door.

When she approached the house she could hear music playing loudly inside. She had rung the doorbell once, waiting for an answer, hoping whoever was inside would hear it over the loud music. After a few moments someone abruptly opened the door. And right before her eyes was a slim brunette girl holding a rather expensive bottle of champagne, wearing tight leather pants and a knotted black t-shirt. The girl looked strangely familiar; Laura furrowed her brows trying to remember who she was.

The girl crossed her arms and gave Laura a sly smirk. "Look at what we have here. What, you don't remember me?"

After a few more seconds of staring Laura started to recall her childhood friend from years ago who looked a lot like the girl in front of her. Granted the girl in front of her looked much more mature and dare she say ravishing, from the combat boots to the thick eyeliner. "Carmilla?"

"That's what they call me, cutie." Carmilla uncrossed her arms and took a swig of champagne.

"Oh my god, what are you doing here?"

"I'm your new neighbor sweetheart." Her grin widened and Laura felt the other girl's eyes rake over her body. "And you brought cookies. Let's hope they're as good as they were when we were younger." Carmilla took the container from Laura's hands and gave her a wink before closing the door, leaving her stunned and confused.

As Laura stood motionlessly on the front step of her former best friend's house, one thought crossed her mind:  _What the fuck?_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This is un-beta'd so sorry for the mistakes! I hope you liked it and please comment, I love comments. Come talk to my anytime on my tumblr carmilla-hollis.tumblr.com you are always welcomed!


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